Part 14
(editor's note: reload this page each time you return, for updates--updated 4/23/03)
(03/20/03)

""My Mind is Clearer Now; at Last, All too Well, I Can See Where We All Soon Will Be....."

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PSALM 2

"Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD  and against his Anointed One.

'Let us break their chains,' they say, 'and throw off their fetters.'

The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in His wrath, saying,  'I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.'

I will proclaim the decree of the LORD :

He said to me, 'You are My Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of Me,  and I will make the nations your inheritance,
the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; You will dash them to pieces like pottery.'

Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for His wrath can flare up in a moment.

Blessed are all who take refuge in Him."

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CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL
(or, connecting the dots between our nation's leaders, the media--radio, TV, the press--our pro-war mentality, and large oil…)

"Media giant's rally sponsorship raises questions"

By Tim Jones
Chicago Tribune national correspondent

March 19, 2003

Some of the biggest rallies this month have endorsed President Bush's strategy against Saddam Hussein, and the common thread linking most of them is Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation's largest owner of radio stations.

In a move that has raised eyebrows in some legal and journalistic circles, Clear Channel radio stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio, Cincinnati and other cities have sponsored rallies attended by up to 20,000 people. The events have served as a loud rebuttal to the more numerous but generally smaller anti-war rallies.

The sponsorship of large rallies by Clear Channel stations is unique among major media companies, which have confined their activities in the war debate to reporting and occasionally commenting on the news. The San Antonio-based broadcaster owns more than 1,200 stations in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

While labor unions and special interest groups have organized and hosted rallies for decades, the involvement of a big publicly regulated broadcasting company breaks new ground in public demonstrations.

"I think this is pretty extraordinary," said former Federal Communications Commissioner Glen Robinson, who teaches law at the University of Virginia. "I can't say that this violates any of a broadcaster's obligations, but it sounds like borderline manufacturing of the news."

(For this entire article, go to:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0303190157mar19.story, or continue--complete article reprinted below)
 

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So...what is Clear Channel Communications? How can this be important to me?

"Imagine:  Some trans-national company that knows little and cares less about your community, and whose main allegiance is to its stockholders and advertisers, will own your local daily and weekly newspapers, all your television and radio stations, the cable system, the Internet service provider, several of the national networks that serve you, your local video stores and movie houses, many of the magazines and books you read, and all of the sports teams in your area. That would allow endless cross-promotions of the owner's interests, and probably very little hard news about anything having negative impact on advertisers or on the company itself. Everything you read or see, every opinion, every image, and every jot of  information would arrive through one corporate filter." [1]
 

Here are, according to http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/telecom-act-96-pt2.html, some of the immediate ramifications of that deregulation

"1. Since the passage of the bill, more and more radio and TV stations around the U.S. are owned by fewer and fewer people. Multinational media corporations have increased their rate of acquisition of stations.

2. The amount of cross-ownership of media outlets has increased. Today, in many communities, one company can now own the local newspaper, the broadcast stations, the cable TV company, and the local magazines.

3. When you go out and buy a book, there’s a good chance the same company owns the publishing house, the book chain which sells it, and the newspaper or TV show which reviewed it for you. They may already own the movie rights or TV rights to it too.

4. The amount of mergers in the telecommunications industry have exploded at a breathtaking pace. The choices available to you as far as ISPs, online services, and high-bandwidth data services have decreased.

5. The rate of disappearance for independent media outlets - independent booksellers, independent ‘zines, independent film studios, independent music labels, independent publishers - has increased. They are all either getting bought out or crushed by their larger, ‘synergized’ competition.

6. The number of cable/satellite channels has increased - it’s nowhere near 500, but many subscribers can get up to 200 or more. Unfortunately, the number of companies who OWN those channels is shrinking even as the amount available increases. The irony is that we are getting more and more of less and less diverse content.

7. The rate of corporate donations from the Telecom industry to Congress has increased 300% since 1995. Ever wonder why? Did they get what they paid for?

8. The number of prosecutions by the FCC of unlicensed (‘pirate’) broadcasters has increased 150% since 1996. The cost of obtaining an FCC license, in contrast, has now increased to around $500,000 once all the ink is dry."

January 22, 2001, barely two days after his inaugural address, then newly elected President Bush appointed Michael Powell, whose father is General Colin Powell, to an immediate position as new Chairman of the Federal Communications Chairman. One of the first big issues that FCC Chairman Powell had to face was the largest communications merger in history, the billion dollar AOL-Time Warner deal. What the general public was shielded from, thanks to the relationship between politics and corporate broadcasters, was the fact that General Colin Powell was on the Board of Directors of AOL, and subsequently was profiting from millions of dollars of AOL stock options. It was found that General Powell also owned stock in Time Warner prior to the merger. FCC Chairman Powell did not exclude himself from the FCC approval, however, citing there was no basis to a "fuzzy" connection between himself and AOL.

Back in 1972, BILLY JOE, "RED", MCCOMBS, current owner of the Minnesota Vikings National Football League professional football team, owner of the San Antonio Spurs National Basketball Association professional basketball team, General Manager, Partner and Sole Owner of Red McCombs Ford, inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame with its Distinguished Service Citation, and associate L. Lowry Mays---formed Clear Channel Communications.  [2] McCombs is also the sole owner of McCombs Energy and Oil Explorative Company headquartered in Houston, Texas. “[3]  Today in 2003, Clear Channel is the world's largest outdoor advertising company with operations in 66 countries, and the world's largest radio station owner with approximately 1,225 radio and 37 television stations in the United States and over 240 radio stations internationally, including the Vikings' flagship station, KFAN, in Minnesota's Twin Cities. Clear Channel also owns or operates approximately 776,000 outdoor advertising displays, including billboards, street furniture and transit panels around the world. Clear Channel Entertainment is a leading promoter, producer and marketer of live entertainment events and also owns leading athlete management and marketing companies.  Even as of the writing of this article, Clear Channel is continuing to expand its portfolio of acquisitions.

When GW Bush sold his interest in the professional baseball team, the Texas Rangers, to Tom Hicks, then CEO of AMFM Communications, in 1998 for $250 million, Hicks, chairman of the leveraged buyout firm Hicks, Muse, Tate and Furst, had had substantial interests in the radio broadcast industry for some time. [4].
In 1999 AMFM Communications Inc., was aquired by Clear Channel Communications for $56 million in a merger costing a total of $26 billion. The US Justice Department's current antitrust chief, Charles James, formerly headed the antitrust department at the Washington law firm that represented Clear Channel when the company sought regulatory approval of its purchase of radio broadcaster AMFM Inc. Hicks also owns the Southwest Sports Group, owners of the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Stars. Southwest Sports Group owns lots of land, and is building sporting/retail/residential projects on it. The firm is currently proposing a $300-million residential and office development adjacent to its new, 9,000-seat, minor-league ball park currently under construction in Frisco, TX.

L. Lowry Mays - Texas Exile San Antonio Chair (Honorary) of the University of Texas' recreational rugby club [5] , and namesake of Texas' A & M University's College and Graduate School of Business -- is current Chairman of Clear Channel Communications, that company he co-founded in 1972 with Hicks. Mays, longtime friend of Bush and comrade in the oil bidnets, has a bit of a long-standing interest in politics himself, backing candidates seeking everything from the San Antonio mayor's office to the White House. While governor of Texas, President Bush appointed Mays to a state technology council in 1996.

Over the past 20 years, May's brainstorm Clear Channel has grown to become the global leader in the out-of-home advertising industry, radio and television stations, outdoor displays, and entertainment venues around the world.  Clear Channel's sales have jumped from $74 million to about $8 billion last year, a stunning 100-fold increase.

Lowry's sons, Randall T. and Mark also help daddy with the family business/fortune:

In addition to his executive experience, Mays has been active in a variety of professional and civic organizations including the Board of Regents at Texas A&M, where the business school bears his name. On November 11, 1999, Mays was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame. To his communications expertise, Mays brings a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University. (Roger R. Hemminghaus, chairman emeritus of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corp., is the newest member of the Texas Exile team. Hemminghaus, who retired as chairman of the Board of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, Corp. in January, serves as regional co-chair of Texas Exiles with Mays, in San Antonio.)

Who contributed some of the largest amount to 1998 Bush's gubernatorial campaign fund?  Enron?  No, but close.  Lowry Mays contributed $51,000. His pet, Clear Channel Communications Worldwide, contributed $106,000 to the Republican National Committee during the presidential election cycle, with Mays and his wife, Peggy, donating an additional $37,000 to the party. [6]

But Clear Channel has also contributed more campaign $$$$$$, via its subsidiaries.  One, Premiere Radio Networks (acquired by Clear Channel in 1997 for $190 million) has made significant campaign contributions.

How significant are Premiere Radio Networks to Clear Channel? According to John Hogan, newest CEO Clear Channel Communications Worldwide, "In addition to the reach of our own 1200 stations, Clear Channel’s  syndicates more than 100 programs to more than 7,800 radio stations total. Premiere reaches 180 million listeners a week with its network of top #1 names including Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Rick Dees, Casey Kasem, Jim Rome, Carson Daly and Art Bell.  Premiere also broadcasts Clear Channel Entertainment concerts and new CD debuts, enhancing the synergies between divisions."

Further, according to Clear Channel CEO Hogan, "Clear Channel Radio, which daily reaches 54% of all people ages 18-49 in the U.S., realigned into eight geographical divisions in 2001. These regions provide advertisers and their agencies with a media footprint to match their trading areas. Selling teams are driven to package and sell various media and entertainment products across the company’s multiple advertising platforms. Result: Integrated advertising and promotional programs that reach consumers and get results."

In 1998, the formidable law firm of Hogan & Hartson represented media rival Jacor Communications, distributor of the Rush Limbaugh radio show, in a $4.4 billion acquisition by Clear Channel Communications (http://www.gabrielmedia.org/news/clearchannel-jacor.html). According to a Reuters report, Clear Channel's acquisition of Jacor will create the world's largest outdoor advertising company.  The combined company owns or operate 454 radio stations in 101 U.S. markets. FYI, Hogan & Hogan traces its roots back to 1904 when Frank Hogan, a respected trial attorney, founded a firm in Washington, DC. In 1925, Nelson Hartson, an attorney with the Internal Revenue Service, joined the firm to boost its tax practice. Thirteen years later, Hartson became a full partner and the name Hogan & Hartson was adopted. The firm now has approximately 730 attorneys in 18 offices worldwide. Hogan is now run by Bob Odle, a University of Texas alum who has been with the firm since 1966 and once served as an aide to former House of Representatives Speaker Sam Rayburn. Odle managed the firm's expansion after his 1989 appointment as managing partner. In 1990 the firm opened its London office and added shops in Brussels, Belgium, Paris, Warsaw, Poland and Prague in 1991. Three years later, H&H opened a Moscow post, followed by a Budapest office in 1996. Surprisingly, it wasn't until 1998 that the firm set up shop in New York. That office handles corporate, litigation, M&A, and health regulatory matters. The DC office, however, continues to be the cornerstone of the practice; approximately 440 lawyers, or two-thirds of the firm's total, practice in the capital. Firm attorneys have counseled numerous government officials and political endeavors at various levels, including Bob Dole and the 1992 George Bush/Dan Quayle presidential campaign. Hogan's mergers and acquisitions practice has worked on some formidable deals as well.  ISP enthusiasts should note that Hogan represented MindSpring Enterprises in a "merger of equals" with Earthlink to form the second largest Internet access provider in the United States in 2000. (Lovers of mildly racy daytime TV will applaud Hogan & Hartson's First Amendment victory before the Supreme Court on behalf of Playboy Entertainment Group, the cable television programming subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises. The point of this seemingly lateral aside--what this effectively means is that Playboy is free to transmit its fleshy broadcasts 24 hours a day instead of confining them to hours of the day when children are less likely to view them.) http://www1.excite.com/home/careers/company_profile/0,15623,1103,00.html

In 2000 (see above),  when Clear Channel  also purchased concert promoter SFX, February 29, 2000, for 4.4 BILLION DOLLARS ( this included the assumption of approximately $1.1 billion of SFX's year 2000 debt net of cash), SFX was the world's  largest producer and marketer of live entertainment events. SFX currently owns, operates and/or exclusively books 130 live entertainment venues, including 44  amphitheaters in the U.S. Each year, more than 60 million people attend approximately 26,000 events promoted and/or produced by SFX, including: live  music events; Broadway and touring Broadway shows; family entertainment shows; and specialized sports and motor sports shows. SFX also provides strategic sports marketing sales and consulting services to professional and college teams, leagues, venues and properties. In addition, SFX owns a leading full-service talent management company, specializing in the representation of athletes and broadcasters. SFX is headquartered in New York City. More information is available at http://www.sfx.com. (article, c/o Josie Cory, Publisher/Editor TVI Magazine)

Buying entertainment giant SFX instantly made Clear Channel Communications the nation's biggest promoter with $2 billion in live-event revenue a year.  Clear Channel CEO Mays said: "This transaction allows Clear Channel, through SFX, to gain immediate leadership in the highly attractive live entertainment segment, while taking advantage of the natural relationship between radio and live music events. Additionally, it creates an exceptional platform for Clear Channel to pursue initiatives relating to the Internet and music." (http://content.clearchannel.com/corporate/article/ccc_sfxmerger22900.pdf)

Among the thousands of concerts, family events, Broadway shows and other events it took on after the SFX deal, Clear Channel also found itself putting on Supercross motorcycle races. But last year Clear Channel and the motorcycle industry's trade association began exchanging blows after contract renewal talks broke down. Senior officials at the American Motorcyclist Assn., which sanctions Supercross races, say Clear Channel has sought to undermine the organization since the association ended its contract with the company.  Clear Channel now is planning to promote its own Supercross series with a European sanctioning body.  AMA officials hired a new promotion firm to run its events, and they say that Clear Channel is pressuring stadium operators to sign deals guaranteeing the conglomerate the exclusive right to promote motor-sports events. Clear Channel touts the benefits of cross-promotion, or leveraging one asset to benefit another. Yet critics say Clear Channel's idea of synergy essentially means it hoards radio programming, concert tickets, access to stars and concert advertising dollars for itself. Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks, has been shifting its syndicated radio shows, such as Jim Rome's Sports Talk Fest and Rush Limbaugh's political program, from competitors' to Clear Channel's stations.

“In recent years almost all nationally syndicated political talk radio hosts on commercial stations have openly identified themselves as conservative, Republican, or both: Rush Limbaugh, Michael Medved, Michael Reagen, Bob Grant, Ken Hamblin, Pat Buchanan, Oliver North, Robert Dornan, Gordon Liddy, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, et al. The spectrum of opinion on national political commercial talk radio shows ranges from extreme right wing to very extreme right wing - there is virtually nothing else.”
--from, "The end of fairness: Right-wing commentators have a virtual monopoly when it comes to talk radio programming";
by Edward Monks,  for the Oregon Register-Guard

Title: A reform agenda for the new FCC
       Author(s): Randolph J. May (senior fellow and director of communications policy studies at the Progress & Freedom Foundation in Washington, D.C.)
       Journal: Info - The journal of policy, regulation and strategy for telecommunications
       Year: 2001 Volume: 3 Number: 5 Page: 407 -- p418
       DOI: 10.1108/14636690110418073
       Publisher: Emerald

Abstract: "It has now been over five years since the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed into law. It would be hyperbolic to
suggest that the Act has lived up to its promise. But it would be a mistake to give up on its promise, particularly with a new
deregulatory-minded Chairman in place, and with three new Bush-nominated commissioners now having joined the new Chairman. The
'new' Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has an opportunity to fashion an Agenda for Reform to fulfill the vision of the 1996 Act." (http://gessler.ingentaselect.com/vl=6954410/cl=34/nw=1/rpsv/catchword/mcb/14636697/v3n5/s5/p407)

Earlier this year Adshel, along with the San Antonio and Austin, Texas, Clear Channel radio stations, tested a cross-platform sponsorship opportunity with the Rouse retail centers in those markets. The program accelerated sponsorship revenues in the two Texas retail centers by combining on-air sponsor announcements with in-mall advertising. January 16, 2001, the Rouse Company of Columbia, Md. (NYSE:RSE) and Adshel/Mall Communications Network announced the signing of an exclusive 10-year agreement for advertising displays at Rouse's retail properties throughout the U.S.  The agreement marks the beginning of a strategic marketing alliance between Rouse and Adshel's parent company, Clear Channel Communications. As the exclusive static advertising partner for the common areas in the shopping centers, Adshel will build custom designed displays created by the well-known Chicago architectural firm of Krueck & Sexton. The new displays represent a move forward in the design of the advertising medium in the mall environment. "The look of the displays enhances the shopping environment while providing an impressive advertising product," said Andrew C. Tilmont, Rouse's Director of Operations Administration. "Our alliance with Clear Channel and Adshel will further help us provide our shoppers with relevant information that will make their shopping experience more informative and enjoyable." [8] The Rouse Company, through its numerous affiliates, operates more than 250 properties encompassing office, retail, research and development and industrial space in 22 states. (www.therousecompany.com/)

"AMERICAN EXPRESS AND CLEAR CHANNEL ENTERTAINMENT SIGN MULTI-YEAR MARKETING ALLIANCE INCLUDING MEDIA AND MUSIC. American Express is the Official Card at Clear Channel Entertainment Music Venues, 34 amphitheaters, and 25 musical theaters and clubs. In addition to on-site branding opportunities, the deal includes special Card member programs for users of the American Express Gold Card Events program. Additionally, American Express will receive other large-scale benefits including, for the first time, the ability for Card members to redeem Membership Rewards points for ticket purchases at Clear Channel Entertainment owned and operated concert and family events and venues."
(article excerpted from www.Clear Channel press release,  New York, NY, September 3, 2002).

Entertainment and artist managers also are now nervously eyeing Clear Channel's expansion of station-sanctioned concerts, commonly known as radio shows. Representatives of various artists have said for years that broadcasters coerce acts into playing the shows for little or no fee by refusing to air their latest songs unless they appear. Regulators have said the practice of trading airplay for an artist's appearance without disclosing the deal is a violation of federal anti-payola laws. Since 1960, federal law has forbidden broadcasters from accepting money or anything of value in exchange for airplay without disclosing the payment.  But Clear Channel executives say their events, such as KYSR-FM's annual "Not So Silent Night" concert, fairly compensate acts and aren't forced upon them with threats. Running a radio powerhouse is a far cry from Mays' early days, when he studied petroleum engineering in college. People who know Mays say the 65-year-old former investment banker never imagined he would control such a sweeping empire.

"Salesmanship always has been his [Mays] forte," said VictoriaRadio Works President John Barger, a former executive of the company, who helped Mays and partner B.J. "Red" McCombs. ( see: Google/LA Times article cached here) Six years ago, said LA Times reporter, Jeff Leeds, "Lowry Mays, then modest San Antonio-based chain Clear Channel Communications Inc. owned 36 radio stations, four under the legal limit. Then Congress did away with most radio station ownership limits and Mays went on a frantic shopping spree. But Clear Channel's rapid expansion is provoking allegations that the radio giant is bullying recording artists and skirting station ownership rules. Consumer advocates point to the conglomerate as a symbol of the results of media deregulation--one that should be examined after a federal court ruling last week that could open the door to more consolidation in the television and cable industries. ( http://smart90.com/clearchannel)

Last month, Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills) urged the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission to probe reports that Clear Channel punished stars, such as Britney Spears, by refusing to play their songs on Clear Channel radio stations because the musicians declined to hire the company as their tour promoter. Clear Channel's executives say they have done nothing improper and tout the benefits of continued deregulation.

"Our worst fears have been realized," Andrew Jay Schwartzman, president of the watchdog organization Media Access Project, said recently. "A lot of the things Clear Channel is doing are the traditionally questionable industry practices, now on steroids."  (http://smart90.com/clearchannel)

Chicago Media Watch informs of Clear Channel Broadcasting’s radios station orders to purge all play lists of all anti-war sentiments including “Imagine” by John Lennon -- http://www.chicagomediawatch.org/01_4_freedom.shtml

                        Some of the biggest rallies this month have endorsed President Bush's strategy against Saddam Hussein, and the common thread linking
                        most of them is Clear Channel Worldwide Inc., the nation's largest owner of radio stations.

                        In a move that has raised eyebrows in some legal and journalistic circles, Clear Channel radio stations in Atlanta, Cleveland, San Antonio,
                        Cincinnati and other cities have sponsored rallies attended by up to 20,000 people. The events have served as a loud rebuttal to the more
                        numerous but generally smaller anti-war rallies.

                        The sponsorship of large rallies by Clear Channel stations is unique among major media companies, which have confined their activities in
                        the war debate to reporting and occasionally commenting on the news. The San Antonio-based broadcaster owns more than 1,200 stations
                        in 50 states and the District of Columbia.

                        While labor unions and special interest groups have organized and hosted rallies for decades, the involvement of a big publicly regulated
                        broadcasting company breaks new ground in public demonstrations.

                        "I think this is pretty extraordinary," said former Federal Communications Commissioner Glen Robinson, who teaches law at the University
                        of Virginia. "I can't say that this violates any of a broadcaster's obligations, but it sounds like borderline manufacturing of the news."

                        A spokeswoman for Clear Channel said the rallies, called "Rally for America," are the idea of Glenn Beck, a Philadelphia talk show host
                        whose program is syndicated by Premier Radio Networks, a Clear Channel subsidiary.

                        `Just patriotic rallies'

                        A weekend rally in Atlanta drew an estimated 20,000 people, with some carrying signs reading "God Bless the USA" and other signs
                        condemning France and the group Dixie Chicks, one of whose members recently criticized President Bush.

                        "They're not intended to be pro-military. It's more of a thank you to the troops. They're just patriotic rallies," said Clear Channel
                        spokeswoman Lisa Dollinger.

                        Rallies sponsored by Clear Channel radio stations are scheduled for this weekend in Sacramento, Charleston, S.C., and Richmond, Va.
                        Although Clear Channel promoted two of the recent rallies on its corporate Web site, Dollinger said there is no corporate directive that
                        stations organize rallies.

                        "Any rallies that our stations have been a part of have been of their own initiative and in response to the expressed desires of their
                        listeners and communities," Dollinger said.

            Clear Channel is by far the largest owner of radio stations in the nation. The company owned only 43 in 1995, but when Congress removed
                        many of the ownership limits in 1996, Clear Channel was quickly on the highway to radio dominance. The company owns and operates
                        1,233 radio stations (including six in Chicago) and claims 100 million listeners. Clear Channel generated about 20 percent of the radio
                        industry's $16 billion in 2001 revenues.

What everyone should know about all corporate broadcast companies,
and a list of House Members who oppose LPFM (low power FM stations), Co-Sponsors of H.R. 3439.
http://www.partytown.com/cmp/corpradio.htm

In truth, those who oppose the reasons given for this war, DO INDEED support and pray for all of our troops, our military personnel and their families.

 http://www.fair.org/activism/pro-troops.html
 

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(Click on above photo to see enlargement) --  Copyright 2003 J. Netter

In a article published by the Freedom of Information Society,
Matthew Brophy writes:

              Minnesota Daily--September 27, 2002

                            " Freedom is Slavery; War is Peace; Ignorance is Strength. "This is the motto heralded by Big Brother
                               in George Orwell’s book, “1984.” This motto might as well be from the George W. Bush
                               administration. Since the tragic Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration has incrementally been
                               seizing power, desecrating the U.S. Constitution and subordinating our civil rights in the name of
                               national security.

                               We are told that to protect freedom, we must forfeit our liberties. To have peace, we must fight a
                               prolonged war. To be strong, we must be kept ignorant of our government’s actions. In short, to be
                               good Americans we must believe in apparent contradictions and submit to our government entirely.

                               The parallels between Orwell’s dystopian vision and Bush’s post-Sept. 11 governmental policies are
                               so striking some journalists have facetiously accused Bush of plagiarism. Orwell’s book depicts a
                               society dominated by a totalitarian government in which citizens’ liberties are suppressed on the
                               basis of an endless war. In post-Sept. 11 America, the same reasoning is being used to justify
                               turning our nation into a police state.

                               In Orwell’s society, a person can be arrested not just for public speech, but for their private thoughts
                               as well. In our nation, this nightmare has come to life through Bush’s USA Patriot Act. This act
                               enables law enforcement departments to spy on citizens and non-citizens alike: To read private
                               e-mail correspondence, monitor Internet usage, tap into phone conversations, delve into computer
                               files and conduct “sneak-and-peak” searches of homes and offices without immediately, if ever,
                               presenting residents with a search warrant. Law enforcement no longer needs judicial oversight or
                               probable cause. So, be careful: Big Brother is watching.

                               Furthermore, this act states that citizens and non-citizens can be detained on mere suspicion. Since
                               the Sept. 11 attacks, more than 1,100 immigrants have been imprisoned. The charges against them
                               remain undisclosed; even their names and identities remain largely unknown. The Bush
                               administration admits these prisoners are not terrorists. So far, the FBI has racially profiled and
                               interrogated more than 5,000 recent immigrants. Those immigrants Bush deems “terrorists” can be
                               tried before closed military tribunals rather than in open court.

                               In Orwell’s society, citizens join the government in the suppression of speech and thought; citizens
                               constantly monitor neighbors and coworkers, informing the government if a person seems
                               “suspicious.” Bush’s “Operation TIPS” makes such paranoid spying a reality. This program asks mail
                               deliverers, utility meter readers, truckers and other citizens to spy on their neighbors and customers,
                               and report any suspicious activity that could be related to terrorism. A recent example of TIPS in
                               action occurred just two weeks ago. Three men were detained, searched and interrogated for being
                               overheard apparently joking about Sept. 11 at a restaurant in Georgia. Bush and a federal law
                               enforcement official in Washington eventually exculpated the men, reporting they had no evident ties
                               to terrorism.

                               Increasingly, it seems we must all be wary of saying or doing anything that could be construed as
                               subversive; after all, your neighbor might turn you in to the thought police. The reach of the thought
                               police has even extended to academia, where certain factions have attempted to stifle the free
                               exchange of ideas. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, for example, has sought to
                               “blacklist” more than 40 professors who were deemed “anti-American.” One professor, an emeritus
                               from the University of Oregon, was blacklisted for recommending that “we need to understand the
                               reasons behind the terrifying hatred directed against the U.S. and find ways to act that will not
                               foment more hatred for generations to come.” Even one of the Daily columnists has received
                               threatening letters for suggesting that U.S. foreign policy might be somewhat casually responsible for
                               terrorism.

                               It seems that to be strong and united, we must silence all dissenting voices. Attorney General John
                               Ashcroft has declared that critics of the Bush administration’s post-Sept. 11 measures “only aid
                               terrorists” and “give ammunition to America’s enemies.” For this reason, the Bush administration has
                               explained we need to “suspend” certain liberties for the duration of the war.

                               The message is clear: To criticize America, right or wrong, is either to be unpatriotic or, worse, to be
                               a terrorist sympathizer (Does anyone smell McCarthyism yet?). It seems ignorant patriotism has
                               become a virtue.

                               The Bush administration has heavily promoted the idea of ignorance as strength. On this basis, it is
                               making sure the media and American public are kept ignorant. Invoking the excuse of national
                               security, the Bush administration has imposed heavy restrictions on what we can know. For
                               example, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security includes an exemption from the
                               Freedom from Information Act. Additionally, the military has disallowed journalists from
                               accompanying American forces fighting in Afghanistan and even from interviewing military personnel
                               after their missions.

                               In addition to this governmental censorship, the media has even censored itself. CNN Chairman
                               Walter Isaacson, for instance, ordered his news staff to limit reports of Afghan casualties and to use
                               World Trade Center deaths to justify the killing abroad. Furthermore, the largest U.S. radio station
                               owner, Clear Channel, sent out an internal memo prohibiting certain songs from being played on the
                               air — including “Imagine” by John Lennon.

                               In Orwell’s society, the duration of the war is never-ending, waged against an enemy that is
                               ever-changing and ambiguous. The same is true of Bush’s declared “war on terrorism.” This war has
                               no fixed, geographical definition. It is directed against an expansive “axis of evil” and a shadowy
                               faction known as al-Qaida. Moreover, this war has been estimated to continue indefinitely (current
                               estimates say at least 10 years).

                               This ambiguous, protracted crusade is an efficient way to fuel the hatred and fear necessary to justify
                               the Bush administration’s seize of power. With the winds of war behind him, and a 90 percent
                               approval rating, Bush has hurdled the checks and balances of the other two governmental branches
                               and has used “war” as an excuse to increase his dominance and serve his administration’s interests
                               — for example, finishing his dad’s business in Iraq or squelching opposition to NAFTA and the WTO.

                               To rally the war cry, Bush spews monosyllabic propaganda, simplistically characterizing the
                               terrorists’ purpose to be to “attack our freedom,” and that those individuals and nations who oppose
                               our policies are satanically “evil.” We, of course by contrast, are righteous and good. Disregard our
                               past alliances with these “evil” regimes, our training and financing of radical Islamist terrorists, our
                               forcible replacements of democracies with dictatorships or any instances of our past foreign policy
                               that might be relevant to understanding why the United States is resented in many parts of the world.

                               Terrorism isn’t what terrifies me. I fear fear itself. As a result of our nation’s fear, our constitution is
                               being desecrated, civil rights are being trampled, and our democratic nation is degenerating into a
                               fascist regime. Disturbingly, it seems the only inaccuracy of Orwell’s prescient book is that it was 17
                               years off.

                               Surely we must make some sacrifices in times of war, yet we must not sacrifice the very principles
                               upon which the United States was founded. In the words of one of our founding fathers, Benjamin
                               Franklin, “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither
                               liberty nor safety.”

                               © 2002 The Minnesota Daily [9]

When you factor in the current administration's expanding policies of "Conceal everything; Confess nothing": http://foi.missouri.edu/bushinfopolicies/
one can understand the lopsided quality to the information we are receiving.

Welcome to administrative opacity, if not obfuscation.

How can we know what the truth is, if the truth is being manipulated by a pervasive, growing media machine?

Did we read about THIS in the papaer..."UN Diplomats Quit over War"--  http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/11/1047144951200.html

          So, what is the importance of these connections between the Department of Defense and its contractors, the media, and oil companies? The importance lies in the fact that these powerful segments have the money and resources to articulate their desires repeatedly to the American people until those desires become "self- evident truths" and "conventional wisdoms." A concerted effort on the part of the military and government, media conglomerates, Department of Defense contractors, and oil conglomerates ensured that its Gulf War propaganda was accepted by the general American population.

When George H. W. Bush ordered American forces to the Persian Gulf – to reverse Iraq's August 1990 invasion of Kuwait –
part of the administration case was that an Iraqi juggernaut was also threatening to roll into Saudi Arabia. Citing top-secret
satellite images, Pentagon officials estimated in mid–September that up to 250,000 Iraqi troops and 1,500 tanks stood on the
border, threatening the key US oil supplier.

But when the St. Petersburg Times in Florida acquired two commercial Soviet satellite images of the same area, taken at the
same time, no Iraqi troops were visible near the Saudi border – just empty desert.

"It was a pretty serious fib," says Jean Heller, the Times journalist who broke the story.

 The White House is now making its case. to Congress and the public for another invasion of Iraq; President George W. Bush is
expected to present specific evidence of the threat posed by Iraq during a speech to the United Nations next week.

But past cases of bad intelligence or outright disinformation used to justify war are making experts wary. The questions they are
raising, some based on examples from the 1991 Persian Gulf War, highlight the importance of accurate information when a
democracy considers military action.

"My concern in these situations, always, is that the intelligence that you get is driven by the policy, rather than the policy being
driven by the intelligence," says former US Rep. Lee Hamilton (D) of Indiana, a 34-year veteran lawmaker until 1999, who
served on numerous foreign affairs and intelligence committees, and is now director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center
for Scholars in Washington. The Bush team "understands it has not yet
carried the burden of persuasion [about an imminent Iraqi threat], so they will look for any kind of evidence to support their
premise," Mr. Hamilton says. "I think we have to be skeptical about it."

Examining the evidence
Shortly before US strikes began in the Gulf War, for example, the St. Petersburg Times asked  two experts to examine the
satellite images of the Kuwait and Saudi Arabia border area taken in mid-September 1990, a month and a half after the Iraqi
invasion. The experts, including a former Defense Intelligence Agency analyst who specialized in desert warfare, pointed out the
US build-up – jet fighters standing wing-tip to wing-tip at Saudi bases – but were surprised to see almost no sign of the Iraqis.

"That [Iraqi buildup] was the whole justification for Bush sending troops in there, and it just didn't exist," Ms. Heller says.
Three times Heller contacted the office of Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney (now vice president) for evidence refuting the
Times photos or analysis – offering to hold the story if proven wrong.

The official response: "Trust us." To this day, the Pentagon's photographs of the Iraqi troop buildup remain classified.After the
war, the House Armed Services Committee issued a report on lessons learned from the Persian Gulf War. It did not specifically
look at the early stages of the Iraqi troop buildup in the fall, when the Bush administration was making its case to send American
forces. But it did conclude that at the start of the ground war in February, the US faced only 183,000 Iraqi troops, less than half
the Pentagon estimate. In 1996, Gen. Colin Powell, who is secretary of state today, told the PBS documentary program
Frontline: "The Iraqis may not have been as strong as we thought they were...but that doesn't make a whole lot of difference to
me. We put in place a force that would deal with it – whether they were 300,000, or  500,000."

John MacArthur, publisher of Harper's Magazine and author of "Second Front: Censorship and Propaganda in the Gulf War,"
says that considering the number of senior officials shared by both Bush administrations, the American public should bear in mind
the lessons of Gulf War propaganda.

 "These are all the same people who were running it more than 10 years ago," Mr. MacArthur says. "They'll make up just about
anything ... to get their way."

On Iraq, analysts note that little evidence so far of an imminent threat from Mr. Hussein's weapons of mass destruction has been
made public.

Critics, including some former United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq, say no such evidence exists. Mr. Bush says he will
make his decision to go to war based on the "best" intelligence.

 "You have to wonder about the quality of that intelligence," says Mr. Hamilton at Woodrow Wilson.

"This administration is capable of any lie ... in order to advance its war goal in Iraq," says a US government source in
Washington with some two decades of experience in intelligence, who would not be further identified. "It is one of the reasons it
doesn't want to have UN weapons inspectors go back in, because they might actually show that the probability of Iraq having
[threatening illicit weapons] is much lower than they want us to believe."

The roots of modern war propaganda reach back to British World War II stories about German  troops bayoneting babies, and
can be traced through the Vietnam era and even to US campaigns in Somalia and Kosovo.

While the adage has it that "truth is the first casualty of war," senior administration officials say they cherish their credibility, and
would not lie.

In a press briefing last September, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld noted occasions during World War II when false
information about US troop movements was leaked to confuse the enemy. He paraphrased Winston Churchill, saying:
"Sometimes the truth is so precious it must be accompanied by a bodyguard of lies."

But he added that "my fervent hope is that we will be able to manage our affairs in a way that  that will never happen. And I am
69 years old and I don't believe it's ever happened that I have lied to the press, and I don't intend to start now."

Last fall, the Pentagon secretly created an "Office of Strategic Influence." But when its existence was revealed, the ensuing media
storm over reports that it would launch disinformation campaigns prompted its official closure in late February.

Commenting on the furor, President Bush pledged that the Pentagon will "tell the American people the truth."

Critics familiar with the precedent set in recent decades, however, remain skeptical. They point, for example, to the Office of
Public Diplomacy run by the State Department in the 1980s.Using staff detailed from US military "psychological operations"
units, it fanned fears about Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista regime with false "intelligence" leaks.

Besides placing a number of proContra, antiSandinista stories in the national US media as part of a "White Propaganda"
campaign, that office fed the Miami Herald a make-believe story that the Soviet Union had given chemical weapons to the
Sandinistas. Another tale – which happened to emerge the night of President Ronald Reagan's reelection victory – held that
Soviet MiG fighters were on their way to Nicaragua.

The office was shut down in 1987, after a report by the US Comptroller-General found that some of their efforts were
"prohibited, covert propaganda activities."

More recently, in the fall of 1990, members of Congress and the American public were swayed by the tearful testimony of a
15-year-old Kuwaiti girl, known only as Nayirah.

In the girl's testimony before a congressional caucus, well-documented in MacArthur's book  "Second Front" and elsewhere, she
described how, as a volunteer in a Kuwait maternity ward, she had seen Iraqi troops storm her hospital, steal the incubators, and
leave 312 babies "on  the cold floor to die."

Seven US Senators later referred to the story during debate; the motion for war passed by just five votes. In the weeks after
Nayirah spoke, President Bush senior invoked the incident five times, saying that such "ghastly atrocities" were like "Hitler
revisited."

But just weeks before the US bombing campaign began in January, a few press reports began  to raise questions about the
validity of the incubator tale.

Later, it was learned that Nayirah was in fact the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to Washington and had no connection to
the Kuwait hospital.

She had been coached – along with the handful of others who would "corroborate" the story – by senior executives of Hill and
Knowlton in Washington, the biggest global PR firm at the time, which had a contract worth more than $10 million with the
Kuwaitis to make the case for war.

 "We didn't know it wasn't true at the time," Brent Scowcroft, Bush's national security adviser, said of the incubator story in a
1995 interview with the London-based Guardian newspaper. He acknowledged "it was useful in mobilizing public
opinion."

Intelligence as political tool

Selective use of intelligence information is not particular to any one presidential team, says former Congressman Hamilton.

"This is not a problem unique to George Bush. It's every president I've known, and I've worked with seven or eight of them,"
Hamilton says. "All, at some time or another, used intelligence to support their political objectives.

"Information is power, and the temptation to use information to achieve the results you want is almost overwhelming," he says.
"The whole intelligence community knows exactly what the president wants [regarding Iraq], and most are in their jobs because
of the president – certainly the people at the top – and they will do
everything they can to support the policy.

"I'm always skeptical about intelligence," adds Hamilton, who has been awarded medallions from both the CIA and the Defense
Intelligence Agency.

"It's not as pure as the driven snow."

--http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0906/p01s02-wosc.html

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22, 2002/ PRNewswire/ -- The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network has announced a partnership agreement with Clear Channel Worldwide (CCW) for an initiative to benefit millions of American families in communities across the nation.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020822/DCTH008LOGO )

The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network, a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization, supports and organizes the vital work of community volunteers who help solve our nation's most serious social problems by bringing people and resources together.

On behalf of Clear Channel Worldwide, Dan Creel, President Clear Channel Cause Marketing recently presented $500,000 to Robert K. Goodwin, President and CEO and Norm Brown, Chairman of the Points of Light Foundation, in response to President Bush's call to service. The gift positions Clear Channel Worldwide as the "Voice of America’s Communities."

"I am very grateful to Lowry Mays [CEO] and Clear Channel Worldwide for their very generous gift to the Points of Light Foundation," said former President George Bush, who also represents the Foundation as its honorary chairman.

"One of America's great strengths is our sense of community and the fact that we all care about one another," Bush continued. "This new partnership between Clear Channel Worldwide and Points of Light will allow us to continue the very important work of promoting this wonderful sense of volunteerism across America."

Specifically, the new partnership agreement will unite local Clear Channel Worldwide properties around the Presidents campaign to expand community volunteering and service. Additionally, the partnership will foster positive working relationships with community businesses, organizations and groups as well as government leaders.

"The goal of this great partnership," explained Mr. Mays, "is to create opportunities for Clear Channel Worldwide properties, employees, families and friends to participate in and create awareness for local and national volunteerism through the Points of Light Foundation and Volunteer Center National Network."

In Spring 1999, The Texas Child Identification Program distributed one million child identification kits –including fingerprinting--to children attending kindergarten through second grade in Texas public schools. The distribution, supported by TASA, the Texas Association of School Administrators, was the largest child identification drive ever conducted in the United States. The American Football Coaches Association, TASA, along with major funding from Clear Channel Communications, Inc., have joined together to distribute additional kits free of charge for each of Texas' remaining three million schoolchildren.
(http://www.tasanet.org/ednews/October_00.html) Students in Service to America, Clear Channel Communications, The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the National Fraternal Congress of America, Knights of Columbus, the AT&T Foundation (co-sponsors of SSA) also are sponsors of this initiative. In the fall of 2000, with the help of Clear Channel Worldwide, Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Nolan Ryan, free inkless I.D. Kits were distributed to nearly four million schoolchildren in kindergarten through 12th grade in the state of Texas, making Texas the first and only state to provide all of its schoolchildren with an I.D. kit. Clear Channel Worldwide has also promoted the National Child Identification Program through public service announcements, raffles and auctions among its 1,200+ radio stations nationwide. (http://www.afca.com/lev1.cfm/38)

Clear Channel's own Clear Cause Marketing will undertake this campiagn over the next three years. (http://www.clearchannel.com/business_units.php and  http://www.afca.org/lev1.cfm/38 .)

However, if we truly wish to continue believing that all of this is exclusively for the protection of our children and presevation of our nation's security and integrity, let us at least consider the following--why are we not allowed to hear/read/watch more than one viewpoint via our media?

Why are we discouraged from peering into issues too carefully (see USA Patriot Act 1 &2).

Perhaps, it may be that if we look at something we have grown accustomed (conditioned) to, long enough, we may begin to see it for what it truly is. Perhaps that in and of itself is prohibitive.  There seem to be at least two sides to everything, right?

Let's look briefly at a seemingly benign phrase which we have readily embraced:

Alice Bailey, legendary Theosophist/occultist and co-founder of Lucis Trust, publishing company for the UN (since 1922 when she changed its name from 'Lucifer' Trust to 'Lucis'), and founder of the Arcane School--in her 1957 book The Externalization of the Hierarchy tells us exactly what the phrase "of Light" means to an occultist:  "...[T]he men who comprise the occult leadership group known as the New Group of World Severs.  These individuals, she remarks are in service to 'the work of the Brotherhood...the Forces of Light.'  They are the ones who are to usher all of mankind from the darkness of outmoded Christianity and faded nationalism into the bright and shining 'New World Order.'  In her book, Discipleship in a New Age, Bailey tells her occult followers to repeat, "I am a point of light within a greater Light...I am a spark of sacrificial Fire, focused within the fiery will of God," words written by her mentor, the Tibetan Master Djwhal Khul. What arcane disciples/servants seem to be attempting to do by repeating this "points of light" language/phraseology within our current context, is to condition minds to accept such notions in the context of a New Order of the Ages-- Novus Ordo Seclorum (see the back of your dollar bill) -- also transliterated as NEW WORLD ORDER, per a more enlightened Age of Aquarius:

For more insight into the subtleties of such language in our vernacular, pick up a copy of “Dark Majesty: The Secret Brotherhood and the Magic of a Thousand Points of Light”, by former government scientist Texe Marrs.  You may enjoy the information provided in former freemason, Manly P. Hall's "The Lost Keys of Freemasonry".  Or you may really enjoy reading about freemasonry and why it is pertinent, by obtaining your own copy of "The Morals and Dogma of Freemasonry" by Albert Pike, who states to all 33 degree aspirants, " Yes, Lucifer is God, and unfortunately Adonay is also God..."

But no doubt, we will hear much more regarding the "Points of Light," volunteerism, and a NewWorld Order courtesy of Clear Channel Communications, the apparent and overwhelming mouthpiece of  NWO propaganda. Unfortunately, it appears that under the proposed NWO government, citizens will have no personal liberty and no freedom.  But as Benjamin Franklin wrote, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."

Speaking of the UN, did you know that the 1992, 2002 UN Global Biodiversity Assessment calls for earth's human population to be reduced from 5.6 billion to 1 to 2 billion within the next decade? (reference GBA Section 9.2.3.2). You didn't see that on the six o'clock news, did you?  It too must have gotten purged.   Read the UN's "Declaration Towards a Global Ethic" and learn what the UN classifies as 'authentically human.' This is a UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program) prepared by Hans Kung.  Wonder when we will ever hear/read about the resignation of the Pentagon's Prince of Darkness, Richard Perle?

Remember Jaques Cousteau?

Could there be some connection here between a media manufacturing wars, the government killing off its18-25 year-old military personnel in wars, UN Biodiversity treaties, and genocide?

You be the judge.  Primary verification is essential for making a strong case re: all of the above information.  Right now, however, more than one opinion/source of information would help.

Dear Friends....I encourage you to follow all above links and utilize all resources at your fingertips, before such use is completely prohibited by law.   Whether or not you believe in God, ask yourself this--are our nation's leaders-- leaders of this country, a country still "under God"-- are they truly able/willing to “love one another as [Jesus Christ/ pick your diety] loved us?  That is, are they exhibiting behavior converse to destruction?  How then, can such destruction be justified by an allegedly God-fearing President?  Where does declaring more war on the hapless citizens of a Stone Age country (thanks to the annihilation perpetrated by our military during Desert Storm, and subsequent sanctions) fit in with any commandments given by God?

Today, anyone who speaks against the policies of this system or its mouthpiece(s) are being labeled 'anti government' or  'trouble maker', 'traitor' or 'terrorist'.  Soon, under Patriot Act 2, they may be either summarily executed or imprisoned indefinitely without benefit of counsel, with majority assent. And well-intended American citizens will support it because they have been brainwashed (see Clear Channel Communications Worldwide article, above) by propaganda and will not understand what is really happening.

Like good German citizens in 1938.

Already in the United States those who simply and stoicly support the US Constitution and read the Bible, are demonized as anti-troops, ridiculed as crazy paranoids, conspiracy theorists, or dangerous extremists. See: http://www.fair.org/activism/pro-troops.html

Last week in my former hometown of Austin, Texas, 50 peaceful war protesters were arrested on the Congress Avenue bridge--not for blocking traffic--teh police blocked off the bridge--but for simply being there at all.   Arrested and taken to jail.  Some of them are now to spend six months in jail.  Sentencing per the discretion of the court.  Similar protests have been ongoing, nationwide since this war began.   But who is listening.  Who cares.  The media says they are domestic terrorists.  We believe the media.  CNN wouldn't lie.  NBC wouldn't lie.

Ask yourself WHOM do you truly trust...and why.

Regardless of which side of the razor wire you are now on, at least ask yourself WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR 1st AMENDMENT IN THIS COUNTRY???

* "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Question everything. While you can. And by all means, go find CREDIBLE media watchdogs such as http://www.prwatch.org/ and the Center for Public Integrity, and Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting,  and the Columbia Journalism Review -- AND READ!

And as you daily remember those soldiers fighting this war now, please remember all those brave people throughout previous centuries who have died fighting to bring truth into the light.

May Almighty God alone reward such courage.
--betty

ADDED August 23, 2007:

Billy Joe 'Red' McCombs Biography - McCombs School of Business ...

Red McCombs' Business Interests - McCombs School of Business - The ...

Top Company Profiles - Clear Channel Communications, Incorporated ...

Well Connected - The Center for Public Integrity

NFL Vikings' owner Red McCombs gives $50 million to The University ...

ANSWER: Red McCombs

http://www.statesman.com/business/content/business/stories/other/08/23/0823cbriefs.html

1.  "Incorporation of Corporate Media in the U.S.: When Limitations on Media Limit Public Opinion"-- Margie Monin, staff writer; The College Press, World Net Daily. (http://www.thecollegepress.com/clean/articles/garticles/margie/media.htm)
2. http://www.fsuato.20m.com/ATOAlumBus.htm
3. http://www.vikings.com/
4. The Columbia Journalism Review; http://www.cjr.org/year/00/3/wetherell.asp
5. http://www.texasexile.com/exile/texas_exile_bios.htm. Also see: http://www.clearchannel.com/
6. http://events.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Search-X!ArticleDetail-52085,00.html -- Jeff Leeds, LA Times staff writer,
7. © 2003 American City Business Journals Inc., http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/
8. http://smart90.com/clearchannel, (article no longer available except via Google's cache system: THE ROUSE COMPANY SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH A DIVISION OF CLEAR CHANNEL COMMUNICATIONS FOR EXCLUSIVE ADVERTISING RIGHTS formerly at http://www.therousecompany.com/whoweare/press/pr011601.html)
9. http://foi.missouri.edu/bushinfopolicies/bushorwellian.html